A married pair of zookeepers were brutally attacked by a rhino early Tuesday morning at Hellbrunn Zoo in Austria. The woman did not survive the attack and her partner was injured while trying to save her.
The 33-year-old woman was tasked with applying insect repellent to the rhino’s body to protect its sensitive skin from insect bites, zoo director Sabine Grebner told reporters.
The reason why Jeti, the 30-year-old female rhino, attacked the zookeeper remains unclear, Austrian news agency APA reported.
“Maybe there was some kind of irritation. We are deeply dismayed and shocked,” said Grebner.
Attempts to revive the woman were unsuccessful. She died at the scene, AP reported. Local police are investigating the attack.
Her husband, a 34-year-old man from Austria, was feeding other animals at the time of the attack. He was attacked by the rhino after he tried to drive it away from his wife.
He suffered a broken leg, while his wife died as a result of severe chest trauma, AP reported. In accordance with Austrian data protection regulations, their identities will not be made available to the public.
The man, who has worked at the zoo for 15 years, was a trained zookeeper and his wife had worked as a certified zookeeper for nine years.
The woman was known to be “very careful and considerate with the animals, and she had an extremely good instinct for handling them,” AP reported.
As safety regulations are reassessed, the zoo will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. No further incidents were reported at the Rhino Barrier, which was constructed almost 30 years ago.
Jeti has been cooperative since she arrived at the zoo in 2009. She had never been frisky before. Jeti is one of three rhinos at the zoo, the APA reported.
“The animals are very cooperative and have been in the Salzburg Zoo for a very long time,” said Grebner to the APA.
More: Visually impaired puppy Henry lives with his foster parent after being abandoned on the side of the Arizona road